Mat 6:24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
The past few Presidents have used words like "dialogue", "points of light" and the most eminent Washington doublespeak "faith based initiatives" to try and find some way to deal with religious concerns in the United States. If they could, no doubt if there could be a consensus, they would form a State Church here and now, although all would be quick to deny that motive; for some it as been only subconscious. In truth, though, 'while we were sleeping', the foundations of a State Church with the government as head has already been laid through the 5013c Incorporation of Churches, in which the following have been instituted as substitutes for Biblical Church Structure and obedience:
1. Mandatory Registration with the State as non-profit corporations instead of a living body of Christ
2. Clandestine censure of sermons by IRS definitions of what may be said in the pulpit
3. The mandate of a national flag which is defined by the US Flag code as a 'living thing' and indicates US authority where it is placed.
4. The appointment of a board and chairperson opposed to deacons and a bishop
5. The taxation of church property
6. The instigation of income tax on church salaries
7. Government aid, approval/disapproval and intervention
8. Infringements demanding publication/free perusal of membership lists, budgets, etc
9. Subjugation to building codes and regulations including asbestos removal, wheelchair ramps even without handicap members, even for tiny churches, fire regulations etc.*
10. The REQUIRED licensure of Pastors with specified requirements including the purchasing of 'right to do business' licenses in some cities.
Theatre of the Absurd
Now,its been a number of years in my youth before salvation that I read prolifically in the "Theatre of the Absurd". In the sixties, the Theatre of the Absurd was a move in drama, a branch off of existentialism which presented 'slice of life' portrayals of the oxymoronic nature of the human condition, particularly how absurd the world was, where we can ignore the great horrible aspects and truths of life rushing at us, and embrace the tiny inconsequential trivia of the day. (e.g. "the Rhinoceros"by Ionesco) or "The Sandbox" by Edward Albee. ) If my comparison seems odd, perhaps I could use Jesus' comparison of straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel': the horrid, creeping mausoleum vine of a State Church is well upon us, couched in terms of incorporation and initiative and we are sleeping, and calmly convincing ourselves that nothing of that sort could upset our coffee and doughnuts at Sunday school.
Faith Based Initiatives and Points of Light
Today, Obama announced the furtherance of "Faith Based Initiatives" going a radical step further,although so couched in the language of jargon that hardly any will notice it, but if it comes to fruition will lead to a very serious blow to freedom in the Churches in the US. George Bush first began as his father did to 'reward' churches and ministries, not only Christian but other faiths, with his 'points of light' program and it seemed like nothing more than a positive rewarding of good works. When churches and ministries though become incorporations of the state, the notion that the government might 'officially' reward stellar ministries,carries its penumbra of the right to denounce certain ministries though that is not spoken. Likewise the 'sanctioning' of certain churches almost always is according to secularly defined characteristics: there are no 'points of light' whose main aim is to teach the Gospel and the blood of Christ excellently, nor will there ever be. It redefines good in the church as 'good works', which true Christians and Jews understand is not at all 'all there is to it'.
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Almost no discussion came up about faith based initiatives during the Bush administration, although several churches were met with IRS interventions such as an Episcopal Church with a liberal pastor in CA who criticized Cheney from the pulpit. Later criticism came as faith based initiatives were criticized when the Executive office declared executive privilege and could not be sued for decisions regarding such.
Little was said nationally other than those issues, but by the end of the Bush administration, many church members and officials were beginning to question what direction the Church-State relation was going.
Obama and New Initiatives: Blind Ecumenism & Losing the right over Hiring and Firing
I had a pretty serious hunch that Mr. Obama, a former church organizer among Chicago churches would probably not be a premiere advocate of church independence from the state. He is focused on organizing networks of support for such issues as health care, poverty, community projects etc. He claims even now to be a Christian although the first days of his administration he removed restrictions on abortion funding which will result in an estimated 125000 deaths a year without time to blink, and appointed a gay bishop to pray at his inauguration. So far not so good. It is not fair to use the rubric Christian and believe and do the opposite of what Christians throughout history have believed. "Christian" does not mean "nice" although many use the words interchangeably. Christianity sets forth exact beliefs, and he has by his actions denied many and even publicly ridiculed portions of Scripture. (See Obama, Sermon on the Mount)
Nonetheless, being merely a lukewarm or convenient Christian is not new in campaigns nor in the White House but the new Obama Initiative plan is downright frightening, partly because of what it is proposing and partly because it will go unnoticed by massive numbers of naive Christians and others who do not understand the danger of the State making decisions and having a voice in the House of God.
The Most Dangerous Change
One suggested change which should send chills up every pastor's spine is that he wishes to take away the exception churches and synagogues have enjoyed in the hiring of persons of certain backgrounds and lifestyles which are anathema to the beliefs of the church. Obviously one of the main issues is that if Obama gets his way, local Baptist and Pentecostal Churches will have to hire pro-choice or even homosexual persons if qualified, or face lawsuits which could bankrupt many church budgets. Now most fundamental Baptists for example are not likely to seek positions in Metropolitan Community Churches (the main 'gay' church) but it is not unlikely in brutal protests that many gay people will indeed push the issue. It could so change the timbre and nature of the church, already suffering in this country from a malaise and 'over-psychologization', that the society would change, and real Christians WILL be forced at least semi-underground and later worse. The good effect is persecution usually results in a stronger real church, but do we have to be dealt that blow to surrender to the real gospel?
Back to the Nazis and the Church
Here begins the litany again: if WWII and the Shoah did one thing more than any other it showed us the nature of how the Church and Society becomes something else altogether, something horrible. Except for scattered individuals the Church did not stand up against Hitler: he bought them. Before the great split between the Confessing Church of Niemoller and Bonhoeffer and the Deutsche Christen, certain governmental structures or 'faith based initiatives' were put in gear: the great gear of the Gleichschaltung. The first thing Hitler did was meet with church leaders to try to bring them and others who might one day pose opposition into a great 'coordination'--making deals across the board, keeping everyone happy. He espoused Christianity but never really believed it, and had a dichotomy between his speech and actions not like the current President. He appeared to many a nice fellow: wanting to make amends and make all Germans content so none saw the soon coming consequence. He was technology oriented, and sought the allegiance of the church in his 'repair' of the defeated nation. He began by promising to pay Pastor's Pensions in exchange for small favors like the display of the Nazi flag on the altar,(1) although before the process finished, he sent his men to sit in on and censor sermons, literally requiring the altering of the teaching of the gospel in the most perverse way ever, changing even the meaning and purpose of Jesus and Paul into a prototypical Aryan Master (from the Aramaic part of Israel he considered Aryan), and Paul into an Introverted confused, deceived and self-deprecating rabbi whose teachings were dangerous.(2) Some of the State tactics which were used in the morphing of independent Protestantism and Catholicism into a State Church were:
1. The institution of a REICHBISHOP which oversaw Church-State Matters
2. The Erasure and Censure of the Old Testament in Practice, Worship and influence
3. The use of Church/doctrinal language reinterpreted into State/Aryan goals
4. The translation of Biblical figures into National Socialist Ideals and Archetypes
5. The State funding reinstituted for Protestant Schools and Hospitals and Orphanages
6. The State takeover of Nursing, which had been under the auspices of the Church
7. The separation of and exclusion of the Jews, Mischlings and Jewish Converts first from practice such as separate communions and later from attendance and membership.
8. The takeover of Theological Training including the disallowing of the teaching of Hebrew
9. The formation under the Institute for the Study of German History and Culture (Nazi enculturation) under Kittel and Grundman of a Theological Think Tank with some authority to revamp doctrine, Bible translation, Lexicons, and Institutions.
10. The requirement of Party Membership and an Oath.
All the churches which were out in the open which met with no great violence were State incorporations under the Nazis. When the positions became so intolerable to true believers, it was at the point of a Synod which was to be held to require a loyalty oath to Hitler and the Reich, before Jesus Christ. That event lit the flame for the writing of the Barmen Declaration written by Karl Barth, a Swiss-born German Theologian exiled back to Switzerland, and others declaring the 'church's one foundation, of Jesus Christ our LORD'. Many pastors were arrested, and the split became volatile as both sides required the statement of allegiances to either Christ the Messiah or Hitler the Fuhrer. Banners waved declaring "The German Christian reads the Gospel in the [light of]the Third Reich" or conversely "No Fuhrer but Christ" i.e. no LORD but Christ. As the Confessing Church, loyal to her Messiah declared independence leaders were persecuted, imprisoned and killed, church property confiscated and many fled or were exiled. It is little wonder that the Jews received so little mercy or aid from the 'Church'.
Before the Obama devotees write horrible twitter remarks, it is necessary to remember that while Hitler was Fascist, and Obama seems to be the opposite, tyranny comes in many faces and Fascist oppression is equally intolerable as communist oppression. The Church needs to be free in order to be the right and good influence on our nation it needs to be. Taxing it, Incorporating it, Restricting it and telling it who it may or may not hire, makes it in to an arm of the State and not the Bride of Christ.
Some will argue that there are crimes and abuses rampant in the Church today, and I have been the victim of it so I will not argue that at all. It is utterly true. The church though is subject to the laws of the land, and investigation if a crime is committed. We do not need to change the nature of the church for control for that will only increase corruption in a different direction.
Home Churches, Unregistered Churches or a State Church: choices
A last brief comment is that if this issue of 'fair hiring' (fair to whom?} is pursued churches will have only a few options:
a. Go along and change into something else
b. Protest and be closed
c. Diversify into home meetings and unregistered churches.
Home churches currently across the world are winning souls to the Lord although suffering persecution. Home churches meet far better the criteria of the Scriptures for what a church is: an assembly of believers with Christ as head. They do not 'hire' so the issue is not applicable. They do not have to incorporate so they do not have to answer to the state. They must stay small: many have 50 or fewer members but the reward of attending is usually greater. It is still not illegal to meet for worship in homes. I have no doubt though, that if it becomes necessary to go back to suburban catacombs, they will try the banning of home churches as well. For now, some churches changing from 5013c organizations to registered 'associations' and there are even a few clever legal maneuvers to create corporations which do nothing more than provide worship buildings and furniture for poor needy large congregations, but that is a little dangerous cleverness.
We all know the story of the boiling frog, which does not at first notice the warming process, and by the time it notices, it is basically stew. We cannot serve two Masters in the house of God: we have the same decision to make as did Bonhoeffer and others in the Shoah: the difference is,we have the ability to make some legal decisions now, and show mass support for freedom of the Church instead of just going along with whatever comes down the Reich. (ahem) ekbest
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*NOTE: The church should actually be so loving that many of these things should occur without regulation,but the 'right-ness' of these things is no match for the 'requirement' by the government of these things.
1. Colson, Charles Kingdoms in Conflict
2. Dimont, Max I. Jews, God, and History: 2nd Edition
: Signet Classic, 2004
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